Hips

Hip pain during or after a run can indicate a number of problems.

If you have tight leg muscles and feel a dull ache on the outside of your hip during or after a run, you could have bursitis, an inflammation of the fluid-filled sacs that lubricate your joints. Bursitis is caused by overuse, or a tight hamstring or iliotibial band (the ligament that runs along the outside of the thigh). You may feel a dull ache, burning, rubbing, or popping sensation on the outside of your hip. Initially pain appears during or after a run. Reduce your mileage, stretch your hamstrings and ITB after a run, apply ice, and take anti-inflammatories. You should be better in about a week.

If pain is more on the inside of your hip, and you run all season on mostly concrete or asphalt without taking a break, you might have a stress fracture, which can be diagnosed by a sports medicine specialist with an imaging test. You'll feel a throbbing pain in the groin area that gets worse the longer you run until you're limping through your daily activities. Treatment is six to eight weeks of rest but you may be able to do some low-impact cross-training (walking, low-resistance stationary bike, swimming). When you've been cleared, ease into your running, and switch to softer training surfaces.

If you're experiencing a "clicking" or "catching" feeling and intermittent pain from a recent hip twist or fall, you could have a cartilage tear. Cartilage tears usually occur where the ball and socket joint insert. Most are caused by trauma (sudden twisting or a fall). Stop running and see a sports medicine specialist if you notice a loss of range of motion.

If the outside of your knee also hurts, and most of your running is done on the roads or track, your hip pain could be caused by Iliotibial band syndrome, an irritation of the ligament that runs down the outside of the thigh from the hip to the shin. You can get it by always running on the same side of the road or the same direction on the track, running too much too soon, having tight hamstrings, or wearing old shoes. Change your route or alternate directions on the track, stretch your hamstrings and ITB, and replace your shoes. If you catch it early, you can reverse it in a week or so.